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The Daily Insight

Are diet sodas good for you

Author

Robert Spencer

Published Apr 28, 2026

The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there’s no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals. But diet soda isn’t a health drink or a silver bullet for weight loss.

Is diet soda worse for you than regular soda?

Others insist that diet soda remains a healthful alternative to traditional soda, despite the evidence to the contrary. The authors of a 2016 analysis noted that 26 studies found no link between soda consumption and worse health outcomes.

What is the healthiest diet soda to drink?

  • Calories: 0.
  • Fat: 0 grams.
  • Protein: 0 grams.
  • Sugar: 0 grams.
  • Sodium: 2% of the Daily Value (DV)
  • Potassium: 2% of the DV.

Why diet sodas are bad for you?

It’s simple: while diet soda doesn’t contain real sugar or calories it does contain a lot of additives and artificial ingredients including sweeteners. These ingredients are full of unnatural chemicals that can cause your body to crave more high-calorie and sugar-laden foods.

Do diet sodas cause belly fat?

A potential culprit for that protruding belly can be diet soda or beverages with artificial sweeteners. One recent study shows a link between the high consumption of diet drinks and the increase of belly fat in older adults.

Does soda count as water intake?

Yes. Sparkling soft drinks, including reduced and no sugar, no calorie options, contain between 85% and 99% water, which means they can help quench thirst and count towards your recommended daily fluid intake.

How many diet sodas a day is safe?

But, like many foods containing artificial additives, there is a safe daily limit. An average adult should consume no more than 40 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram of body weight per day. To exceed the limit, most people would need to drink at least 14 cans of diet drinks a day.

What makes Diet Coke so addictive?

The average can of Diet Coke contains 42mg of caffeine, the equivalent of roughly two-thirds of a shot of espresso. Caffeine is a medically recognised addictive substance that, when taken in excess, activates the brain’s reward circuitry.

Can aspartame cause you to gain weight?

Some research indicates that even acceptable daily intakes of aspartame, as regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), might make you hungrier and lead to weight gain.

Is it better to drink diet or regular soda?

Healthy Eats Winner: Although both beverages have a long list of cons, diet soda wins this fight by the smallest of margins. Drinking large amounts of regular soda has been shown to lead to weight gain and a variety of long health conditions and switching to diet can help cut calories and shed pounds.

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What's Better Diet Coke or Coke Zero?

There are very few differences between Diet Coke and Coke Zero. As such, there is no concrete, measurable reason to suggest that one is superior to the other. Nutritionally, there are no significant differences. Their ingredient and caffeine contents are similar as well, so neither is healthier than the other.

What can I drink instead of diet soda?

  • Arnold Palmer Lite. …
  • Tea – iced or hot. …
  • Freshly-squeezed lemonade. …
  • Sparkling water. …
  • Kombucha. …
  • Sparkling water with a splash of juice. …
  • Maple water. …
  • Fruit and herb infusions.

Does quitting diet soda help you lose weight?

Most people start drinking diet soda to help lose weight. But you might lose more weight giving it up. A recent study found that older adults who drank diet soda continued to pack on belly fat. Research also found that each daily diet soda increases your chance of becoming obese in the next decade by 65%.

How do I get rid of fat on my stomach?

  1. Eat plenty of soluble fiber. …
  2. Avoid foods that contain trans fats. …
  3. Don’t drink too much alcohol. …
  4. Eat a high protein diet. …
  5. Reduce your stress levels. …
  6. Don’t eat a lot of sugary foods. …
  7. Do aerobic exercise (cardio) …
  8. Cut back on carbs — especially refined carbs.

Can you gain weight from zero calorie drinks?

Diet sodas have zero calories. So it seems logical that replacing one with the other should help you lose weight, or at least stay the same weight. But no–several studies have proved conclusively that drinking diet soda is associated with weight gain.

Is 1 diet soda a day bad?

Nutrition and healthy eating Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn’t likely to hurt you. The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there’s no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer.

Why is McDonald's Diet Coke so good?

Most fast food joints get their Coca-Cola syrup sent to them in plastic bags (yuck). But McDonald’s is all about the stainless steel containers, which keeps the soda fresher for longer. … They’re intentionally thick AF, which allows for the Diet Coke to hit every one of your taste buds.

Why is aspartame bad for you?

Authors of a 2017 review concluded that aspartame may affect the immune system and, as a result, it may lead to oxidative stress and inflammation. Their findings suggested that aspartame could affect the cells of various body organs, including the brain, the heart, the liver, and the kidneys.

What's the most hydrating drink?

  • Water. Surprised? …
  • Milk. Because it’s so much thicker than water, you might think that milk could dehydrate, but that’s not the case. …
  • Fruit-infused water. …
  • Fruit juice. …
  • Watermelon. …
  • Sports drinks. …
  • Tea. …
  • Coconut water.

Why is water better than diet soda?

While both diet soda and water have zero calories, water doesn’t have the artificial sweeteners that have been associated with increased calorie intake. The bottom line is that water is that whether being physically active or not, consuming water will help keep the body more hydrated than diet soda.

Can you hydrate with diet soda?

Besides guzzling water, milk is a top choice to refuel. Sodas, even diet ones, get a bad rap for lacking nutritional value, but they can still be hydrating. Juices and sports drinks are also hydrating — you can lower the sugar content by diluting them with water.

Is stevia better than aspartame?

“Stevia leaf extract is safer than many other sugar substitutes, especially aspartame and sucralose,” Lefferts says. Research has linked sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin with cancers.

What are the top 10 dangers of artificial sweeteners?

  • 03/11It’s not safe. …
  • 04/11Lowers metabolism. …
  • 05/11Can cause diseases. …
  • 06/11Artificial sweeteners are ‘neurotoxic’ …
  • 07/11Adverse effect on Prenatal development. …
  • 08/11Lead to weight gain. …
  • 09/11Risky for children. …
  • 10/11Affects insulin hormone.

Is sugar worse than aspartame?

Aspartame contains 4 calories per gram (g), which is a similar amount to sugar, but aspartame is around 200 times sweeter than sugar. This means that only a tiny amount of aspartame is necessary to sweeten foods and drinks. For this reason, people often use it in weight loss diets.

Is diet Coke bad for your kidneys?

Drinking one diet soda daily did not decrease kidney function more than normal. Drinking two or more diet sodas, though, appeared to cause problems. The diet-soda drinkers experienced a drop in their glomerular filtration rate (an important measure of the kidney’s function).

How many spoons of sugar are in a can of Diet Coke?

This means that a 330ml can contains around 35g – which is about nine teaspoons of sugar.

Is sugar free soda worse than regular?

Flickr / niallkennedy Diet sodas may be calorie-free, but they could be worse for your health and your waistline than ones with sugar, a new report suggests.

Are diet sodas Keto?

While beverages such as Diet Coke (or diet soda in general) are technically keto-compliant, they may lead you to crave more. A review published in January 2019 in BMJ suggested these artificially sweetened sips may trick the body into craving the calories and carbs it believes it’s getting from the diet soda.

How safe is aspartame?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that “the use of aspartame as a general purpose sweetener… is safe.” The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has stated, “Studies do not suggest an increased risk associated with aspartame consumption for…

What's the difference between Diet Dr Pepper and Dr Pepper Zero?

Dr Pepper Zero Sugar is sweetened with a combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium, which makes it slightly more syrupy (read: realistic). Diet Dr Pepper, on the other hand, is sweetened with only aspartame. Science!

Is Diet Dr Pepper same as Dr Pepper Zero?

Diet Dr Pepper is here to stay and continues to be a popular brand among consumers,” the spokesperson said. “Dr Pepper Zero Sugar is an all-new separate beverage that delivers Dr Pepper’s one-of-a-kind flavor with zero sugar.” Diet Cherry Dr Pepper may be a different story.